Feeling Good and AFOs

Well we are finally getting re-settled back into our family routine. We had a good weekend at home and I know Addy was very happy to be back in her own bed without those pesky nurses coming in every few hours! We went back to the hospital yesterday and had her central line checked and flushed. It looked good so that was no problem. We will have it removed in the pediatrician's office tomorrow. We went today and picked up her new AFOs!! They were ready a few weeks ago but a certain little someone was in the hospital so we didn't get to get them until today. They are so cute with the multi-colored foam and purple velcro with princess ribbon on them! It's amazing that two tiny pieces of plastic with a little velcro and foam costs over $1500!! Thank God for insurance! Since Addy's braces make her feet quite a bit bigger we headed to Shoe Carnival for new tennies! The three other kiddos needed new tennis shoes, as did I so it was an all or nothing deal! I had to get Addy a size 5 1/2 shoe! Her old shoes are size 3 and they were still a little big, check out the difference! We are going to be putting her in her braces for about an hour and then give her a break a few times a day and then we will increase the time she has them on. She has hated them so far, no big surprise but we are hopeful that they will help her with weight bearing on her legs.



I do have some exciting news! Addy has qualified for in-home nursing care! I tried to get this for her when we came home from Minnesota with her but was told that she wouldn't qualify. So fortunately last year we had a wonderful person that kept Addy in our home until April when she got sick and had to have surgery. She ended up moving so we had to find a new person to care for her this school year. I interviewed over a dozen people and there were people that I wouldn't have left my dog with! I thought I found the perfect person, unfortunately, she totally had me snowed and we ended up having to let her go in November. It is very hard to find a reliable, honest, and trustworthy person to care for your child with special needs. Fortunately Addy was accepted into a local daycare here in one of our local churches. They are awesome and Addy is in the infant room, which is totally appropriate since she is developmentally around 9 months. However, since she started in January she has had a sinus infection and then she had the tummy bug and the rest is history (she hadn't been sick for 14 months prior). So the doctors in the hospital wanted to have her stay out of daycare for a couple of weeks after coming home to help build up her strength a little bit. It was a nightmare trying to find respite care or home health help for her. Yesterday I found out that she is not only going to get care but a nurse to care for her in our home! She qualifies for this since she has continued medical needs, one of them being her G-tube, so yes, she would have qualified for this from the time we brought her home!! UGH! I have decided not to be bitter about this (even though I am a little) but just be extremely greatful for this awesome blessing for Addy. This is taking a HUGE stress off of us. Scott and I both have to work. If we could afford for me to stay home we would, but unfortunately we can't so... I am soo thankful for this wonderful service! It is so scary to see Addy get so sick so fast! Our plan is to just have to use this for a short term, however, the doctors have asked if we would consider just sending her to daycare a couple of days a week. Not that we can guarantee that there won't be germs there those days, but that way she will get the benefit of the socialization with the other kids, but not be there so much that she is exposed to everything. So I left a note for the director today and I will find out shortly if they will be able to move Addy to part-time. I really don't want to lose her spot, she does benefit from being there, she has learned so much already but we do have to put her health first. So please pray that things work out so it best benefits Addy and her health and development.